


All I Ask Of You

by kuroinekokun



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Newt Scamander caring for Graves, Original Percival Graves Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9065746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroinekokun/pseuds/kuroinekokun
Summary: When Percival Graves was found, he was broken. And then, someone took him by the hand.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gyuumajo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyuumajo/gifts).



> This was inspired by the song of the same title from the Phantom of the Opera, albeit a cover by Jonathan Young (Here: https://youtu.be/DUhBEWbH3qE). And then the angsty bunny came of PTSD Graves and Newt taking care of him. 
> 
> I do suggest listening to All I Ask of You while reading this.

When they found him, they had not expected to find the shell of a man that was once the Head of Magical Security for the MACUSA. He was broken, no one was blind to this but none of them had any idea what they could do. What can you do if someone you knew were locked in a box for months and no one realized he was replaced by the darkest wizard of their time? How do you even try to explain without everything sounding like excuses? No one in MACUSA was surprised when Percival Graves roared at them, not caring of his position or even his wellbeing as he asked them again and again: _why?_

No one dared to even approach him while he sat in his former office, still dishevelled and beaten, eyes glaring with betrayal as he looked at them, waiting for an answer. 

Until someone spoke up then. 

“Mr. Graves,” he spoke, softly as he slowly stepped forward, “Would you like to get out of here?” 

At that moment, Graves looked up at the redheaded stranger, kind eyes seemingly to plead with him, with his hand outstretched as an offer of escape and nodded. And everyone watched as Percival Graves took Newt Scamander’s hand and leave.

-

With the help of Tina, Newt asked kindly if he wanted to go back to his apartment. At first, he only looked forward to be back in the comforts of his own home but as he stood at the doorway, he felt revulsion bile up inside him. That man… _That man_ had obviously used his apartment during the times he was gone. Everything that had been his is gone, replaced by the cold shell that was supposed to be his home. He backed away, bumping right into Newt’s body, still looking at the inside of his apartment, head shaking profusely. It was then Newt pulled him, turning his body towards the other man, locking his eyes with his. And then… 

He broke. His body shook as he sobbed uncontrollably, wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball at the hallway. His world was no more, he knew this. And the other man knew it too. Newt pulled him into his arms, letting him cry into his shoulder, humming gently into his ear. And they stood there until he was done, pulling himself together.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he pulled away from the embrace, “I shouldn’t…” He took a deep breath, searching for something to say. 

“Come with me.” It was the gentleness of Newt’s voice that convinced him to follow.

With Newt’s hand in his.

-

The apartment that MACUSA had provided Newt had enough room for one person. Graves wanted to protest but even before he could speak, the magizoologist insisted that it was not a problem and led him in, guiding him to sit on the creaking bed before waving his wand to make some tea. While the water boiled, Newt just sat beside him, offering comfort in his warmth as Graves sat in silence with his thoughts. If he could, he wished he could just drain every emotion from himself. 

“Why?” he suddenly asked. 

“Yes, Mr. Graves?” Newt looked at him then.

“Why did you do that? At MACUSA?” Newt gave him the smallest of smiles before placing his hand on his. 

“Because what I saw was someone screaming for escape,” he answered softly. “I just wanted to provide you that.” 

Graves gripped the hand that was in his now. “Thank you.” 

A comfortable silence fell upon them, only to be broken by the shrill cry of the kettle. Newt just waved his wand again with his other hand because the other was holding Graves’s.

-

He had been sleeping with the help of a Sleeping Draught for a week. Newt thought it was better for him to get some proper rest but the Sleeping Draught was only a temporary solution and Graves dreaded it when Newt said he had to stop taking the potion because in the long run, he’s harming himself. Now, Graves didn’t want to sleep, knowing full well his nightmares would come. It also didn’t help that Newt was still in his case with his creatures and had not come out since dinner. It wasn’t that he wasn’t invited to go into the case before but he was locked in a small confined space for months. He wasn’t going to voluntarily put himself in that situation again despite Newt’s assurances that it was bigger on the inside. It also worried him what creatures where in the case, even though he had met the bowtruckle that wouldn’t leave Newt’s person and the niffler that wouldn’t stop trying to escape. (He had crawled into Graves’s lap once and was disappointed that the auror didn’t have anything shiny. Now the niffler was curled up on the side of the bed, fast asleep.) So he waited until the case popped open hours later and the lanky magizoologist come out from it. Newt was immediately concerned that he had not slept yet despite the late hour and started fussing about.

“I’m fine,” Graves assured him before glancing at Newt’s clothes. He was covered in dirt and Graves was sure that there was a spot of blood on his collar. He reached out only to alert Newt who grabbed his hand before noticing the blood. 

“Oh, I-I helped an Abraxan winged horse give birth to her foal today. She wasn’t supposed to be due in another week so I was surprised!” he explained, light in his blue eyes, “And I thought I got rid of all the blood but I obviously missed a spot. I should wash up…” Newt stopped talking and turned his head curiously to the side. Staring at him was a smiling Percival Graves. 

“What is it, Scamander?” Graves asked. 

“N-nothing,” he stuttered, ears tinging red, “It’s just that you are handsome when you smile.” He quickly covered his mouth with his hand like he had said something offensive. 

“And you are adorable when you’re flustered,” Graves pointed out, still smiling. 

“Mr. Graves, I-I…” Newt was at a loss to what to say. He hadn’t expected the auror to actually respond that way. 

“You should take a bath,” Graves said, “And also, you should start calling me by my first name. I’m not your boss.”

Newt smiled, crinkling his eyes as he did. “Yes, I should.” He got up, walking to the bathroom before saying, “You should call me Newt, by the way, Percival.” And that earned him a small laugh as he closed the door. When he finally came out of the bathroom later, Graves was already curled up, fast asleep on the bed while his niffler looked curiously at him. Newt chuckled before placing a finger on his lips. With a wave of his wand, he summoned his cot and laid it besides Graves. As he fell asleep, he felt Graves’s hand reach out for his.

-

A month had passed since he stayed with Scamander and had now gotten used to various creatures escaping the case when Newt wasn’t paying attention to it. (He had to glare at the demiguise to stay in the case when it was caught sneaking out. Now, it’s a game for the both of them.) Things had gotten to be quite a routine between them. After breakfast, Newt would disappear into the case and feed his creatures while Graves caught up with the morning paper, both wizarding and no-maj. After which, Newt would appear for lunch and they would eat together and he would be informed of all the creatures progress, enjoying the enthusiasm in Newt’s voice when he talked. They would go out for a bit, usually for groceries or a walk in the park. It had taken Newt a few tries to even get him out of the apartment, telling him that it would be healthy for him to get out in the sun. The first time, he bolted back inside and Newt had to coax him out from the bathroom, telling him that he was safe with him. They spent the afternoon on the bathroom floor with Graves laying his head on Newt’s shoulder and just telling him how vulnerable he felt as the magizoologist ran his hand into Graves’s hair. (Later he found out, Newt had gotten Tina to buy them groceries so that he could fix dinner). It was enough to get him to finally go out again, even for a short while. Then, after dinner, Newt would disappear into the case again and Graves would settle with a book, sometimes with notes from Picquery or Goldstein or other aurors just asking for guidance. He wasn’t ready to get back out there in the field but this was enough for him to actually help with MACUSA. He had been an auror almost all his life and if this could ease him back, he didn’t mind keeping himself busy. He had a sneaking suspicion that Newt sent word to keep him in the loop so that he wouldn’t be doing nothing while Newt was busy with his creatures. 

He was about to get about that when an owl swooped into the apartment. He recognised the owl, seeing it in Seraphina’s office before. He knew she wouldn’t send her personal owl to him if it wasn’t urgent, preferring the mailing pigeons for inconspicuous mails. He quickly untied the scroll from the owl’s leg and read the note. It only said two words but it was enough to get Graves to forget that he swore he wouldn’t enter the case. He ran in, nearly tripping himself on the stairs before stopping, suddenly in awe at the sheer vastness of the interior and also realizing that it was impossible for him to look for Newt.

“Percival?” Newt looked curiously at him, brows knitted with worry as he slowly approached him, noticing the other man had not seen him. Graves suddenly couldn’t speak, feeling the tension and panic grip him. He wanted to scream but he held it back, knowing that it would rile the creatures up. The case was a lot bigger on the inside but there was no way out if there was a stampede. So Graves bit his arm hard and screamed. 

“Percival!” Newt shouted in alarm, grabbing the auror’s arm, “Percival, let go. Please, please, let go.” The pleading worked as Graves unhinged his jaw and Newt gently touched his arm. At the presence of Newt, Graves nearly tackled the other man as he grabbed him by the waist, shaking violently. Newt crouched down, arms wrapped around his body, humming that same song he heard the first time, calming him down enough to lighten up his grip on Newt but he didn’t release the other man.

“Percival, is anything wrong?” Newt asked. As if to answer his question, Percival handed him the President’s note. It only said two words.

_He’s escaped_

Newt cursed under his breath before burying his face into Graves’s hair. 

“Percival, I swear I won’t let him get you,” Newt whispered, “I’m here with you. I’ll guard you. I’ll take you away if you want. Just let me take care of you.” His heart eased at those words. Graves wanted to believe it so much that this man would be enough to protect him so he held on.

“Do you promise that?” he asked, choking on his words.

“If that’s all you want, Percival,” Newt assured as he kissed his temple, rubbing his back slowly.

“Yes,” he answered, burying his face into Newt’s chest, finally letting out the fear he held as he sobbed.

That night, they slept near the mooncalves with a small campfire burning at their feet. Newt pulled a blanket covering them both as Graves slept his head on his chest. He took the auror’s hand and kissed it before succumbing to sleep under the false moonlight.

-

“Are you sure about this?” Seraphina looked at him with a soft expression. The request from Graves was unbelievable but then again, she hadn’t spent the month with him when he needed her the most. She had allowed the magizoologist take him and now, her friend had placed his auror badge on her table, asking her to let him go with him. Graves only looked back where the redhead was talking to Tina, probably telling her where he was going.

“I’m sure,” Graves answered, turning back to her. “’Phina, I can’t sleep without him around. I don’t think I’ll even survive if it wasn’t for him.” 

She sighed. It saddened her that he was leaving but she knew for Graves’s wellbeing, she had to. She stood up before taking his hands into hers. 

“Be safe and be loved, Percival,” she said, “That’s all I ask of you.” He gave her a small smile before she hugged him. Behind them, Tina was giving Newt one as well. She caught the other woman’s eye and they both had a moment of understanding: Their friends needed to go and they had to support them, even if it meant letting them go.

-

They were both standing at the platform, both carrying their own cases as they stared at the large ship before them. Graves didn’t want to look back anymore. He had to leave everything behind if he wanted to feel any semblance of safety ever again and he only had one person who made him feel that. He was never going to let that go. He turned to Newt who was grinning now as he held out his hand, like the first time they met. 

“Mr. Graves,” Newt said, humour in his voice, “Would you like to get out of here?”

This time, he laughed as he took Newt’s hand before they went up the platform. 

-

End

-

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. And yay, first Gramander fic for me!


End file.
